EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the second a series of profiles of the candidates for Senate District 19. The Democratic caucus is Monday. The special election is Aug. 27.

BATH

“I entered the race when I did because of the circumstance of Seth Goodall’s resignation, but I’d actually been thinking about running for some time,” said David Sinclair, a Democrat.

He said he first discussed it with his family.

“My wife Lauren was hugely supportive,” he said, smiling. “Beckett didn’t say anything negative about it, so I’ll take that as support.” Beckett is Sinclair’s 7-month-old son.

Sinclair, curently a Ward 6 councilor for the city of Bath, has legislative priorities as well as temperament priorities that inform his candidacy.

“We need to reinstate funding for the mental health system,” he said. Sinclair is on the board of the Two Bridges Jail in Wiscasset.

“People who can’t afford health care coverage are getting mental health care; they’re just doing it in jail. That’s not only inefficient, unfortunately it means the community has to suffer a crime before someone gets help.”

Sinclair said he is also concerned about income inequality, but more so about why bills with popular support often fail to be enacted.

He cited as an example a minimum wage bill that failed to overcome a guberna- torial veto this year. The bill passed the House by wide margins, but passed in the Senate along party lines.

“Some bills are just nobrainers,” he said. “A bill that would allow people to unsubscribe from electronic things they subscribed to didn’t get enough votes to override a veto? Does that make any sense?”

That, according to Sinclair, is where temperament comes in.

“We need more trust and collaboration among legislators,” he said. “I have a fiveyear record of forming collaborations. We don’t always agree in the City Council, but when we don’t agree, it’s not because we are clinging to a party ideology, it’s just that we don’t agree. That’s how it should be.”

Especially in the current political climate, Sinclair says cooler heads in the Legislature have to work together. “There are people on the Republican side who are reasonable — Sen. (Roger) Katz (R-Augusta) and Sen. (Patrick) Flood (R-Winthrop) come to mind — who can be approached and worked with. My method would be to approach those who are approachable … and get the people’s business done.”

Sinclair is attending town committee meetings and chatting with Democrats from the whole district. He’s also getting to know the other candidates better.

There are currently three candidates in the race for the Democratic nod. In addition to Sinclair, Eloise Vitelli and Will Neilson, both of Arrowsic, will face off in the Sagadahoc County Committee meeting’s caucus Tuesday.

The winner of the Democratic caucus will likely face former state Sen. Paula Benoit, a Phippsburg Republican, although there is some speculation that Georgetown resident and former State Treasurer Bruce Poliquin may enter the Republican race. The Maine Independent Green Party is in the field, too, nominating Daniel Stromgren, a 40-year-old social worker from Topsham, on July 17.

In addition to his board work for Two Bridges, Sinclair is also on the Bath Food Bank’s board. He and his wife enjoy kayaking and spending time with their son and their two dogs.

Sinclair’s brother and his family live in Bath, and they often get together. The Sinclair family also has a cottage in East Boothbay where they go on occasional weekends.

ghamilton@timesrecord.com